I was 14 years old when I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. I mean, really, guys. Not cool. I did get a super cute and cool podiatrist whom I still see to this day! It crushes him when I tell him I’ve been his patient for nearly 27 years. When I hit 21 years, he said, “Please don’t tell me that!” HA! He was fresh out of med school when I first started seeing him.

When I came to terms with the fact, I’m tall and there’s no changing that so I should just wear the shoes I like and a few more inches isn’t going to change anything, it opened up a whole new world of shoe options for me! However, plantar fasciitis liked to try and make things hard. I got my cortisone shots (which hurt like hell, by the way), and I did my exercises. I would wear my tennis shoes intermittently to offset the strain. You have to play the game!

Wearing heels made me feel so proud. Confident. Secure. I swore I would be the 90-year-old woman wearing heels someday. That would be my signature. Look, here I am pregnant with my first child. I’m 5 months along and wearing tall boots with a heel.

I strolled into my OB/GYN with heels on and he told me to stop it. My center of gravity had shifted and I could hurt myself and my unborn child. Bye, bye heels. Somebody tell KK because she wore some CRAZY shoes while pregnant and definitely liked to brag about it.

Anyway, all was fine after the first. Then after the second pregnancy … well, those second kids … they get ya. My feet just aren’t quite the same. I have to be really thoughtful about if and when I’m going to wear a heel, the size of the heel, and for how long I plan to be in said heel. I also have to negotiate how much walking will be involved … and clearly, I now know why 90-year-old women do not wear heels. 😭

Which Shoes To Wear

I may have busted feet, but I do not have busted pride. I will continue to wear cute shoes as long as I have the will to try! Today Show shared a story about 11 shoes to own in your 4os. Some are okay, but a few are just plain TERRIBLE! (I’m also offended the featured image shoe is not included in the story. That’s the main reason I clicked on the story – to find that shoe. Clickbait!! False advertising!!)

Here’s what they were correct about — we need:

1. Functionality
2. Comfort
3. Style

I mean, when I saw those Mary Janes … I like to have choked on my charcuterie cup. EW! Comfortable, maybe. Style? Heinous. Unless you’re Wednesday Addams. No hate, no shade to her. LOVED the new show. Her style was epic. But for your average, ordinary 40-year-old mom? Uh, no.

Here’s what you need to look for:

1. Birkenstocks. They have arch support. My podiatrist also recommends them!
2. Any heel with a larger base – no stilettos!
3. A nice wedge.
4. Cute, comfy sneakers.

I prefer this style of Birks:

I also like the white buckle slides. They do stay white! I just wish I had moved the buckles before wearing them all last summer. They are a little loose across the bridge of my foot and now there is residue from the buckle and I feel like I can’t move the buckles. Plus there are indentions.

Fave new summer heel:

I’ve been wearing these on the regular! They are so comfortable!! Plus the chunky heel means added comfort. There is also padding in the upper. My hubs can’t believe how much I’m wearing my Target shoes. For $29.95, you really can’t beat it!

Best wedge is Dr. Scholls!

I have these really adorable wedges from a few years ago that are leopard print. Dr. Scholl’s! I get complimented on them all the time! My favorite response is when people are like, “Your shoes are so cute!” I say, “Thanks! They are Dr. Scholl’s!” The person is always genuinely shocked. They are cute and comfortable. Win. Wine. (Also didn’t mean to type wine, but I delete the whole word twice – because clearly just deleting the “e” wasn’t adequate for me – and I kept typing wine, so I decided to leave it. #spicydisaster #cominginhot)

Cute comfy sneakers: okay, this one’s not so simple.

The plantar fasciitis makes life difficult, as I shared. So many of us have so many different issues with our grounding appendages, so it would be unfair to say “these are the greatest pair” because that simply may not be true for some. I do have a pair like this for when I’m just tooling around and don’t have a lot of walking to do. When I’m working out or have any kind of walking, or long amounts of standing to do, it requires my New Balance shoes which also contain my custom orthotics.

The bottom line is: if your feet hurt, everything hurts and you’re just plain miserable. Do what is best for you. If you can get into a cute shoe, do it. If not, don’t. Fashion is simply for fun.